


The love He Didn't Think He Would ever find

by RomulanEmpress19



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-10 09:02:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13498826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomulanEmpress19/pseuds/RomulanEmpress19
Summary: Love comes in all forms, shapes and sizes and this is proven to be especially true for Bethany Humphrey, an ordinary girl whose never had anything exciting happen in her lifetime. But that all changes when she finds friendship and possibly even love in one of the most unexpected places, the P.T Barnum Circus. And she definitely didn't expect to find love in the form of a three foot tall General.





	1. Tickets for the Circus

**Author's Note:**

> Please read, review and leave kudos on this work!

My name is Bethany Humphrey. I’m 17 years old. I have auburn colored hair, green eyes and a clear complexion. I’m slightly below average height, measuring in at only 5’2, which isn’t too short I guess, but I’d prefer to be a little bit taller. I try to wear high heels whenever I can to make me look taller, but my mom thinks I’m too young. Anyway I’m just your average teenage girl. I live in New York City with my mom and dad, and even though we’re not exactly what you would call wealthy, we still manage to get by. My best friend is Brooklyn Rhodes, a blond with blue eyes. She may seem a little too excitable at times, but she’s still the kind of friend that everyone wishes they had. I do okay in school, even though my grades are certainly nothing to brag about. I don’t have a boyfriend, nor do I plan on getting one in the near future. Their just too much of a bother.

 

Anyway that’s pretty much my life. Nothing special about me, nothing at all. Just a normal girl with a normal family and a normal life. Right? Wrong! That used to be my life, but now I’m going to tell you a story about how all of that changed and why my life is never going to be the same again. It all started one Saturday morning about three months ago. It started like any other day, I woke up, got dressed, left my room, went to have breakfast and that’s when the whole thing started.

 

“Bethany, your pancakes are ready!” I heard my mom yell as I was just finishing lacing up my high heel boots.

 

“Coming!” I shouted back as I finished and ran out of my room.

 

I sat down at the table and immediately started to chow down on my food like there was no tomorrow.

 

“Stop eating so fast, you’ll get sick,” my mom scolded as she poured herself a cup of coffee. 

 

But I was far too hungry to slow down as I continued to stuff my mouth. Only when I looked up to see that dad was absent from the room did I finally take a break and finished chewing.

 

“Where’s dad?” I asked before taking a sip of water to avoid chocking.

 

Mom sighed sadly as she answered, “He had to go to work early. I hate how they overwork him down at the office.”

 

“Well, maybe he’ll get some time off soon,” I said with a smile trying to sound positive.

 

Mom gave a weak smile before replying, “I hope so.”

 

Then suddenly there was a hard knock on the door which startled the both of us.

 

“Who in the world could that be?” I asked putting my fork down as I was about to take another bite.

 

Mom went to open the door, but just as she turned the knob my best friend Brooklyn came hurling in like a tornado. 

 

“Oh!” my mom exclaimed as Brooklyn came bursting in and heading straight for me.

 

I instantly stood up from my seat, fearing something terrible had happened or something.

 

“Brooklyn what is it?!” I said alarmed by her urgency.

 

“Look at this!” she practically screamed as she held a News paper right up to my face. 

 

I braced myself for the worst and then looked at the main headline. On the front page it read, “BARNUM’S CIRCUS RETURNS TO TOWN AFTER BEING ON WORLD TOUR!” After staring at it for a moment I looked over at Brooklyn and raised an eye brow at her in confusion.

 

“Isn’t it wonderful!” she squealed in delight.

 

“Uhh…I guess…” I answered, not sure what the big deal about it was or why she was so excited.

 

“What do you mean you guess?” she almost sounded insulted. “It’s the show that everybody has been raving about!”

 

“So?” I asked crossing my arms, “What’s that got to do with us?”

 

“Everything,” she said with a knowing smile as she folded the news paper and tucked it under her arm. “because my dad just got a raise and he gave me some extra money this week, and with it I got…” she reached into her purse and pulled out two small pieces of paper, “These!” She held up two tickets for the Barnum Circus. “And we’re going tonight!”

 

“What, you mean to the circus?” I asked like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

 

“Yes, and I’m so excited! You wouldn’t believe some of the acts they got there,” she boasted in delight.

 

“Like what?” I asked not sounding very intrigued. 

 

“Just some of the most bizarre looking freaks you could ever imagine,” she said sparking my interest.

 

“So you mean their taking human beings and placing them on display like animals?” I asked skeptically. “I don’t know if I want to go to a show where people are being exploited for profit.”

 

“Oh no, it’s not like that at all. The freaks- I mean the performers are very happy about what they’re doing. It’s like they finally found a place to belong where they can be themselves,” she explained.

 

I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment. Maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad, I mean even I’ve heard other kids at my school raving about how spectacular the Barnum circus is. “Have you ever seen any of them?” I asked figuring she probably hadn’t.

 

“Well, no…but I’ve heard about them. They have a lady with a beard…” she started before I interrupted. 

 

“A beard?” I asked with a chuckle as if she wasn’t serious.

 

“Yeah, and they have a guy with three legs, a man that looks like a dog, and a tiny man that rides on a horse with a gun and a sword. They call him general Tom thumb and there’s also a-“ I cut her off.

 

“Okay, okay don’t spoil everything! I’d rather see for myself,” I cut her off and then sighed in defeat, “I guess we’re going to the circus.”

 

“Yessss!!” she squealed grabbing me by the shoulders and jumping up and down in excitement. 

 

This circus better be worth it.


	2. My First Circus Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate has a way of bringing people together who never thought they would. No matter how someone may appear on the outside, true love always finds a way.

It was finally night fall and Brooklyn was nothing less than ecstatic as we sat in the large audience and waited for the show to begin. I sat impatiently as I just wanted this to be over with. After about five minutes of sitting in the dark, I turned to Brooklyn.

 

“Look, maybe we could do this another time, I-“ I started as she cut me off.

 

“Shhh, look it’s starting,” she whispered harshly as she directed my attention to the stage.

 

A large curtain opened, a bright light lit up the stage and then everything was a blur. With my mouth dropped open and my eyes widened in shock, I sat captivated as I watched the most incredible and “spectacular” performance of all time! There were so many things happening at once that it was hard to keep of everything. First there was an awesome sing and dance performance by many of the performers, including the infamous bearded lady, who was the beholder of one of the best singing voices I’ve ever heard. And then there was an exquisite trapeze performance by a beautiful girl with pink hair and some other guy. There were also elephants and lions which I feared would try and attack the audience. When they were nearing the finale there was another sing and perfectly choreographed dance routine, which included a guy in a red suit who I assumed was the ring master. He was too young to be P.T Barnum though. They sang lyrics that went “This is the greatest show!” and just when I thought I had finally seen everything they had to offer, all of a sudden a horse and it’s rider came running in out of nowhere. I didn’t have a good look at him until he rode his horse closer to the audience. When he did I finally got a good look at him. Waving his sword in the air and looking as happy as could be, was who I could only assume was General Tom Thumb, the smallest man I have ever seen. I smiled and cheered along with the rest of the crowd, until suddenly General Tom Thumb looked over into the crowd and surprisingly his eyes fell right on me. I froze as time seemed to nearly stop and everything went silent. His smile dropped from his face and his eyes stayed glued to mine. I felt my heart skip a beat and then I was suddenly brought back to reality as Brooklyn shook me by the shoulder.

 

“Didn’t I tell you this would be amazing?!” she yelled in order for me to hear her over sound of the crowd’s cheers.

 

I glanced at her a second, but then looked right back to the stage only to see General Tom Thumb nowhere in sight. After a moment another guy in a fancy red suit came out onto the stage (Barnum himself I presumed)and he stood with the rest of the performers who were all gathered together in the center of the arena.

 

“Thank you ladies and Gentlemen for coming, and I hope you all enjoyed the show tonight!” Barnum said with the crowd erupting in cheers once again.

 

I kept scanning through the performers when I suddenly noticed Tom Thumb standing right beside Barnum with a brave look as he raised his sword proudly into the air. I continued to observe him and I didn’t know what was coming over me, but whatever this sudden feeling was..It was hard to explain.

 

After the show was over and everyone was leaving, me and Brooklyn sort of lagged behind and were the last ones to exit the tent. Still in awe from what I had just experienced, my mind was still sort of hazy. I slowly started to head for home with Brooklyn squealing beside me as she recalled all the previous events that night. I barely paid attention to what she was saying. All I could make out was a few choice words like, “Amazing! Phenomenal! Incredible,” and so forth and so forth. Only when she mentioned, “oh, and wasn’t that General Tom Thumb the most funny, adorable thing you’ve ever seen!?”

 

“Huh, what?” I shook and cleared my head before answering, “Uh, yeah…I guess so.” I didn’t know why the thought of the little man was suddenly so significant to me. I mean after all, he was just another member of a freak show that she would probably never see again. I’m sure by tomorrow she would have forgotten the whole thing.

 

“Oh, Bethany, look! There are some of the members of the circus!” Brooklyn exclaimed

 

“Or not” I thought with a sigh.

 

I looked over to see a couple of the performers walking down the street and going into the local bar. Among them was the bearded lady, the 750 pound man, the lady with the pink hair (only now without her wig) and Tom Thumb. Brooklyn grabbed my arm and began pulling me in their direction.

 

“Wha-what are you doing?!” I protested.

 

“Going over there to meet them, what else?” She chirped.

 

“Are you crazy? That’s a bar for crying out loud!” I shout in the middle the street, trying to appeal to my friend’s sense of reason, though I’m not sure if she has any.

 

“So?” she asked, obviously not getting the point.

 

“Are you serious right now? My mom would kill me if she found out I was in there,” and it’s true she would.

 

“Don’t worry about it. We’re only going to stay for a minute. I just want to get all of their autographs,” she said making me give her an odd look.

 

“What’s an autograph?” I asked her bluntly not having the faintest idea.

 

“Um…I think it when you ask a celebrity to write their signature down on a piece of paper…and then you just keep it…or something like that,” she explained not sounding to sure herself. “Anyway it’s considered a big deal nowadays.”

 

I gave her a skeptical look, “It’s the mid 1800’s, are autographs even a thing yet?”

 

“It’ll be fine. We’ll just run in, say hi, and then just run right back out again. Okay? Now come on!” she grabbed my upper arm again as I hesitantly followed her to the bar.

 

We went in and I noticed there were only a handful of people inside. Most of which were drunk or partially drunk. Looking around I realized how out of place we both must have looked. A couple of innocent looking teenage girls in a place like this were bound to draw unwanted attention. But luckily there weren’t many people inside and no one seemed to pay us any mind. We heard talking and looked over to the bar, which is where the circus crew was sitting. They seemed to be having a friendly talk with the bar tender who they apparently knew.

 

“Let’s go over,” Brooklyn said leading me to where they were only to have me stop her. “What’s wrong?”

 

“I-I just can’t,” true I’ve always been a bit of a shy person, but just walking up to a bunch of celebrities just to say “hi” wasn’t exactly something I was down for. And the fact that we were in a saloon wasn’t making it any easier. “Um, you go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

 

“Well, ok. I’ll be back in a minute,” she said before walking up to the odd group of individuals without hesitation.

 

They seemed to respond well to her greeting them and boasting about their magnificent performance. If anything they seemed to greatly enjoy it. It was as if they weren’t used to such praises, which I guess they weren’t until recently when they joined the circus. After waiting a couple of minutes I was beginning to feel a little awkward just standing there. So I pulled up a chair and sat at one of the tables. I couldn’t help but feel tense as I was so anxious to get the heck out of there. I looked back over at the bar to see Brooklyn still talking to them which seemed like a conversation with no end. But they didn’t seem to mind at all. I saw the bearded lady, the oversized man, and the trapeze girl, but someone was missing. I noticed the child sized General was nowhere in sight, which I thought was strange since I knew he had come in with the others. Well, maybe he got sick of Brooklyn’s gabbing and left. And due to his small stature I probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

 

I continued to sit alone and sighed quietly as I placed my elbows on the table and put my face in my hands, closing my eyes. I barely even noticed when someone pulled up a chair beside me and sat down. Only when I heard a clank on the table did I finally look up. A glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage was placed in front of me, which I stared at in confusion.

 

“You look like you could use it.”

 

A deep voice said causing me to jump. I looked to the side and was startled to see none other than General Tom Thumb sitting right beside me.

 

“Oh, I-I didn’t see you,” I stammered making it obvious that I was caught off guard.

 

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he said casually.

 

“Oh no, that’s not what I meant,” I quickly explained not wanting to offend him. I was surprised when he just seemed to chuckle.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said before taking a gulp of his drink. After swallowing he continued, “What’s a pretty young thing like you doing in a place like this anyway?”

 

“Oh, I came here with my friend. I’m just waiting for her,” I said with a smile trying not to look nervous.

 

“Hey, didn’t I see you at our show tonight?” he asked suddenly.

 

“Uh, I don’t know. I guess it’s possible, I was there,” Of course I already knew for a fact that he did see me, I just didn’t want to let on that I was fully aware that he had. And why are my hands suddenly so sweaty?

 

“Well how’d you like the show?” he asked curiously.

 

“It was…okay,” I mentally scolded myself for giving such a pitiful answer.

 

Tom raised an eye brow, “Okay? It’s the best show in the entire country, if not the world,” he boasted proudly.

 

He was right, it was, but I didn’t feel comfortable with changing my statement now. All I wanted was to go home. I was even beginning to consider to go without Brooklyn.

 

“What about my performance?” he continued to press me.

 

Oh my gosh! Why is this man even talking to me? What did he expect to gain from it? Out of all people, why was I in the middle of a conversation with none other than the famous General Tom Thumb? Couldn’t he see I was just a nobody who wanted to be left alone?! Even if he is kind of cute. Wait a second, did I just call him cute?

 

Realizing he was still waiting for an answer I was about to speak when I heard Brooklyn calling for me. Oh, thank you Brooklyn.

 

“Hey Bethany it’s late, let’s go!” she called from the door.

 

“Is she seriously telling me that?” I accidentally said aloud. I stood up to leave when Tom said something.

 

“Bethany? Is that your name?” he asked without getting up from his seat.

 

“Uh, yeah,” I said as if it wasn’t already obvious.

 

“Well Bethany…” he said getting down from his tall chair which wasn’t totally easy. “Maybe I’ll see you around here again.”

 

“Uh, yeah, maybe,” don’t count on it though!”I thought as I practically ran out of the door this time being the one to drag Brooklyn.

 

“Hey, what’s your hurry?” she asked as I pulled her out of the bar.

 

“Let’s never do that again!” I sounded pretty angry.

 

“Why, what’s the matter?” she asked confused and when I didn’t answer she asked, “And was that Tom Thumb I saw you with?”

 

“So what if it was? Now let’s get home before our parents kill us,” I said and I didn’t stop walking until I was back at my apartment and in my room. I had enough adventure for one day.

 

But when I was lying in my bed that night, I just couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was what happened that night. I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it wasn’t a regular stomach ache. It got worse every time I thought about Tom and the way he looked at me during the show. And from the way he talked to me at the bar, something just seemed off about it. It was almost as if he was…flirting with me! But that was ridiculous; no one would ever flirt with me, especially not him. And I don’t mean to sound disrespectful when it comes to his size, but it just doesn’t seem possible that someone like him could be attracted to someone like me. In fact it’s so ridiculous that I’m mentally slapping myself for even considering it. And it’s not like I’m ever going to see him again anyway. Right?

 

Just then my mom knocked on my door and opened it.

 

"What's wrong?" I asked sitting up.

 

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if you enjoyed yourself tonight," she asked.

 

"Oh yeah, sure it was great," I said putting on a fake smile.

 

"Good, because your father just got home, and he bought tickets for all of us to go to the circus tomorrow. Isn't that great?" She said in excitement.

 

Oh, you got to be kidding me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again please review and leave Kudos! Thank you for reading!


	3. The Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even before your aware of it, something inside you can always sense trouble on it's way.

Dream sequence

 

Bethany’s POV

 

The room was dark and I sat crying on my unmade bed. I clutched my pillow in my hands before burying my face in it to try and muffle my sobs. No one was in the house, but I feared if I didn’t try and control my grief I wouldn’t be able to stop. I don’t know how long I’ve been crying but my tears seemed to have no end. My mind was a blur and the only words I was able to utter in between sobs was. “Why?!” I sobbed out loud. “Just tell me why?!” I wailed even louder. 

 

Tears ran down my face as I lifted my head up from my pillow. I chocked another sob as my eyes fell on the golden band placed on my finger. I smiled weakly before bringing a hand up to my mouth as I was suddenly struck with severe nausea. I rushed to the bathroom and found myself hunched over the toilet as I started to vomit. 

 

A few moments later I heard someone pounding on the door.

 

“Just a second!” My voice cracked as I quickly rinsed the remaining vomit from my mouth. I ran out of the bathroom and nearly tripped over my own feet as I bolted for the door. I had to fumble with the knob for a minute before swinging it open.

 

“Brooklyn, what are you-?“ I started before she grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out of my apartment.

 

“Oh my gosh, Bethany! Didn’t you hear?!” She asked with obvious alarm in her voice.

 

“Hear what?” I asked confused.

 

“I’ll explain on the way, but right now we need to get to the hospital!” she shouted as she pulled me down the hallway.

 

“The hospital?!” My heart felt like it was about to stop.

 

“Yeah, something terrible happened.”

 

We both ran all the way to the nearby hospital and Brooklyn filled me in on what had happened. My adrenaline had spiked threw the roof as tears threatened to flow down my face once again. 

 

When we found the right room, I slowly walked in. I had to force myself to stay calm so I wouldn’t lose it. But when I entered the room, and saw the condition of the person lying on the hospital bed, I couldn’t contain myself. I felt my knees give out as I nearly collapsed to the floor. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my frail frame to support me as my legs continued to fail me. I looked up and threw my tears I could tell it was Philip who had caught me. He pulled me up to my feet and I felt another comforting hand placed on my shoulder. It was Lettie’s. 

 

They carefully led me over to the bedside and tears fell uncontrollably from my face as I stared at the individual lying there. P.T Barnum was present as well as he came up behind me.

 

“Bethany…I don’t know what to say,” he spoke solemnly. “I’m so sorry…I feel like this is all my fault.”

 

“What,” I said through clenched teeth, “happened?”

 

“There was…”he started, “an incident.”

 

End of Dream Sequence

 

I awoke with a gasp as I shot up in bed. I was breathing rapidly and could feel my whole body drenched in sweat. I used my hands to try and wipe away the sweat dripping down from my forehead as I inhaled and exhaled deeply to try and get my breathing under control. I could see the light shining through the window indicating it was morning. But it was Saturday, meaning there was no school. I collapsed back down on my bed and closed my eyes. But I no longer felt like sleeping. My heart was practically pounding out of my chest.

 

“Oh my gosh, what a crazy dream,” I said trying to recall the memories of it. I didn’t understand or even remember what my dream was about, but the emotional effect was so strong that it took me awhile to calm down after it was over. But when I first woke up I noticed a single tear running down my cheek, which really disturbed me. What could have happened that would cause me to get so upset? It was so strange. 

 

Later that evening I was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book when my dad got home from work.

 

“Hello everyone!” he greeted happily as he walked in the door.

 

“Hi dad,” I said putting down my book and walking over to give him a big hug.

 

“Hello princess, how has your day been?” he said returning my hug.

 

“Eh, it was ok. What about you?” I asked with my arms still tightly around him.

 

“It was good,” he looked around the room. “Where’s your mother?”

 

“Oh, she’s in the bedroom. I’ll go get her,” I said letting go of him and walking closer to my parents bedroom. “Mom dad’s home!”

 

Moments later my mom ascended from the bedroom with a big smile planted on her face, “Dear, your home early.” She walked over to give him a big kiss.

 

After kissing her my dad said with a smile, “Yeah, I wanted us to get a head start so we wouldn’t be late for the show.”

 

“The show?” I asked confused.

 

“Oh you know Bethany, the circus show we’re going to go see together,” my mom chirped with a smile.

 

“Oh…that show,” I said with a tone that was less than enthusiastic.

 

“What’s wrong? I thought you loved it when you saw it with Brooklyn the other day,” my mom asked noticing my unpleasant tone.

 

“Yeah, but I’m just not really in the mood to see it again,” I said, though I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get away with such a pathetic excuse. 

 

“Nonsense,” my mom said in a slightly annoyed voice while crossing her arms. “This is our first chance in ages for all three of us to do something together and I want to take advantage of it. So you’re going.”

 

I sighed harshly, “Fine,” I said marching off to my room and slamming the door behind me, a bit harder than I intended.

 

“Don’t worry,” my dad said rapping an arm around my mother’s shoulders. “She’ll have a great time once we get there.”

 

Once we were all at the circus and the show began, even though the performance was similar to the show I had seen the previous night it still didn’t fail to amaze me once again. I laughed at the looks of utter shock planted on my parent’s faces. They certainly weren’t prepared for this. Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad after all.

 

And being so distracted by the performance, I was totally unaware that I had caught the full attention of someone back stage.

 

Normal POV

 

Charles was busy fastening his general uniform as he prepared to mount his horse. One of the acts was just finishing up and it was almost time for him to make his entrance. 

 

“Get ready, Tom. You’re on in a minute,” Barnum said as he walked over and kneeled in front of the three foot man to help him fasten his uniform. “It’s a pretty full house tonight. Look sharp.”

 

“Don’t I always,” Charles joked with a smile.

 

Barnum returned the smile and stood up. He walked over to the main curtain and peaked out. Charles followed and looked out at the adoring crowds as they cheered for Anne Wheeler and her brother as they finished their trapeze performance. Charles scanned the crowds to look over the audience he would have for the night, but stopped when his eyes fell on a certain girl in the first row of the stands. The same girl he had run into the night before at the bar. He couldn’t help but smile as he remembered her shy behavior. Something about her intrigued him and he was determined to find out what it was.

 

“Hey boss,” he said in his usual deep voice.

 

“Yeah Tom?” Barnum asked without looking away from the adorning crowds.

 

“Would it be alright if I changed a little bit of the act routine tonight?” He asked, not sure what the answer would be.

 

Barnum looked down at his colleague as he answered, “Yes, I suppose. What did you have in mind?”

 

Bethany’s POV

 

The girl with the pink hair had finished her act, and she was magnificent! I almost couldn’t stop myself from clapping even as she left the stage. That girl was certainly going places. Right after the trapeze trio walked out of the arena we were then greeted by none other than P.T Barnum himself. He walked to the center of the arena and the crowds were still going crazy. He lifted his arms motioning for silence. Once the applause finally died down he spoke.

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a slightly different treat for you tonight,” he said instantly catching the audience’s full attention. “I know how much you all love our General Tom Thumb right?” The crowd went wild at his statement causing him to grin in acknowledgement. “Well tonight we’re going to pick one person from the audience to come down onto the stage and meet him. And also have them go for a ride on his noble steed. “

 

I actually had to cover my ears to protect them from the screaming cheers of the audience. Was Tom Thumb really all that popular? I guess so since everyone was making such a big fuss.

 

“Now ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…” he paused for dramatic effect. “General Tom Thumb!”

 

The crowds continued to cheer like their lives depended on it as Tom Thumb road out onto the stage on his horse. He rode around the arena a couple of times while swinging his sword in the air before stopping in the center of the stage next to Barnum. Barnum looked up into the crowds, probably trying to see who to pick, when Tom whispered something to him. I saw Tom pointing in this direction and kept hearing people screaming, “Me! Pick me! No, pick me!” The majority of them were kids, but there were even a couple of young women as well. “Seriously?” I thought as we still waited for Barnum to make a choice.

 

Then all of a sudden Barnum’s eyes fell on me. I figured he was probably looking at someone else in my approximate direction, but then he lifted his arm and pointed right at me.

 

“No way. He couldn’t possibly by pointing at me,” I thought trying to assure myself. But then all my hope fell apart when Barnum announced his choice. 

 

“Will Miss Bethany come down to the stage please?!” Barnum’s voice announced causing me to gasp.

 

“What?! ME?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and leave kudos! Thank you for reading!


	4. Making a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships are always bumpy. Sometimes at the beginning, sometimes at the end, and sometimes through out the whole thing.

“This is not happening!”

 

The crowd was somewhat taken aback that Barnum had called me by name and a few confused looks were shot my way, but they still cheered nonetheless. I for one stayed frozen in place, still filled with shock. Was I really going to be expected to get down in front of all these people as if I was part of the show? Really?! Out of everyone in the audience why did he have to pick me? And how in the world did he know my name? Oh what am I saying, Tom Thumb told him of course! There’s no other way he could have known. Wait…than that means this is all Tom’s doing. Why that little-!” 

 

“Miss Bethany, if you’ll kindly oblige?” Barnum asked noticing my hesitance. 

 

I was still frozen in place and felt like I couldn’t move when I felt my mom shake me.

 

“Bethany, what are you waiting for?” My mom asked full of excitement. “Go on, it’ll be fun!”

 

“Yeah, easy for her to say.”

 

I was finally able to build up enough nerve and slowly stood up. Taking a deep breath, I practically marched down from the stands and onto the stage. My unpleasant attitude could probably be sensed from miles away, but I didn’t care. I just wanted this to be over and the only way it was going to be over was if I just sucked it up and got on with it.

 

I walked into the middle of the large arena to be greeted by P.T Barnum himself. He smiled kindly and reached out his hand for me to take, which I did. He led me over to Tom Thumb’s horse which he had just dismounted. I was actually relieved that the both of us weren’t going to be riding at the same time, since I would only tower over him even at my short height, and that would only make things more embarrassing. Barnum helped me mount the horse, which I had only realized at that very moment that I had never ridden one of before. I panicked for a moment and tightly gripped the top of the horses harness to keep from falling off. My fear of horses must have been pretty obvious as Tom Thumb brought it to his attention.

 

“Don’t worry about a thing sweet heart, he’s harmless,” I heard him snicker below as I continued to hang on for dear life.

 

“Why that smug little…” I thought with a glare, “And where does he get off calling me sweet heart?”

 

Once I was settled, Barnum had walked off the stage and Tom Thumb took the horse’s rains and walked along side it as he led it in circles around the arena. After a while I got more comfortable and was able to relax a bit more. I was even starting to enjoy it. Though the whole time I felt like a five year old getting a pony ride.

 

Once Tom had decided that I had been on display with him long enough he brought the horse to a halt. It looked like he was about to ask for someone to come over and help me down, but I decided I wasn’t worth the bother and hopped down by myself. I think this surprised Tom a bit, considering how terrified I was at first.

 

The crowd continued to let out hoots and hollers of amusement and Tom just waved and smiled in response. He reached up a hand for me to take and I looked at it skeptically, but then I decided to just go along with it. I took his hand and he gave me a polite bow of his head. I couldn’t help but smile at his act of chivalry. But my smile was quickly turned upside down when the crowd suddenly started chanting over and over again, “Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him!”I shot them a baffled look and I could feel my face beginning to turn red. Why are these people doing this to me?

 

Tom could see how uncomfortable I was and said, “It’s ok, you don’t have to.”

 

I felt relief for a moment but the crowd’s chants didn’t cease, “Kiss him! Kiss him,” again and again. Eventually it became too much and I realized they weren’t going to stop until they got what they wanted. I finally decided to give in and hissing in a deep breath whispered, “Fine.” I then turned to face Tom Thumb and kneeled down so I would measure up to his height. He gave me a slightly apologetic look and then looked over at the crowd. I closed my eyes and quickly leaned forward intending to give him a kiss on the cheek. But Tom must not have been aware of what I was doing because he suddenly turned his head back to face me, and instead of giving him a kiss on the cheek, my lips landed right on his. His eyes widened in response and my eyes shot open in shock as I realized my mistake. I quickly pulled back and stood up with a hand flying up to my mouth trying to hold in a gasp. The crowd went wild in cheers, but I was too flabbergasted to notice. Feeling my eyes beginning to well up in tears it soon became too much and I ran right out of the arena without a word. I heard someone call my name after me but I didn’t stop until I was out of the circus tent.

 

Once I was out of the circus tent my running turned into a fast walk and I had no intention of stopping. I had just experienced the most humiliating thing I could ever imagine. And for what? For the mere petty amusement of the audience. “What on earth was I thinking?” I scolded myself as I continued to walk in no particular direction. “How could I possibly subject myself to that?”

 

After walking for a few more minutes, I started to get tired and decided to stop and lean against a nearby tree. I sat down and pretty soon the tears started coming again. They flowed freely as I stared down at the grassy ground. I don’t know how long I was there but I just seemed to lose all sense of time. After a while of silence, I heard footsteps and could sense someone walk up beside me. I glanced over to the side to see the familiar short stature of General Tom Thumb. Officially the last person I wanted to see right now. He was no longer in his uniform however; he now wore a white dress shirt and a pair of brown slacks with dress shoes.

 

“What do you want?” I asked hoarsely without looking him in the face.

 

He walked over right in front of me, causing me to glance up, but still not looking him in the eye.

 

“I came to apologize,” he said in a low voice. 

 

The sudden sound of his deep voice caused me to steal a quick glance up at him, but I soon turned my gaze back down as I responded, “For what? What happened isn’t your fault…you were just doing your job, which is to make people laugh. And if they had to laugh at someone, then why not me?” I spat. 

 

Tom stayed silent for a minute as guilt creped onto his face. He took a step closer to me as he said, “That’s not why I did it…I just…I just wanted an excuse to talk to you again.”

 

That got my attention as a lifted my head up. I gave him a questioning look and was about to say something harsh, but stopped myself when I realized something. Did Tom Thumb just confess that he liked me?

 

“I asked Barnum to pick you from the crowd…” he admitted, “but I didn’t mean for the kiss to happen.”

 

All my emotions were suddenly on fire again at the mention of the embarrassing act and I clenched my fists in anger as I shot back, “Well that’s too bad because it happened anyway and you can’t take it back!” I stood up from my seated position causing me to tower over him. “That was my first kiss you know…it was something I wanted to save. And I wasn’t planning on using it on some midget General!” The words came tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them. Regret filled my heart the moment I realized what I had said. I stood aghast at what I had said and brought a hand up to my mouth in shock. For a moment I was unable to utter a word, but still I tried to apologize. “Oh my gosh!” I gasped. “I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that, I just…, I’m so sorry Tom.”

 

My heart continued to ache with regret as I saw the stabbed look on Tom’s face. I wasn’t sure since it was kind of dark, but I thought I saw his eyes start to water up a bit. He didn’t seem that surprised by my comment, more like heartbroken. I was about to apologize again when he spoke.

 

“Charles,” he said in a whisper.

 

“What?” I asked in confusion.

 

He took a deep breath as if trying not to let his pain show, “My real name is Charles.”

 

“Charles,” I said to myself as if trying out the name. I smiled as I responded, “I like it.”

 

Much to my relief, Tom allowed a small smile to crepe onto his lips and I did the same. Maybe we could be at least friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please review and leave Kudos!


	5. Where's Tom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things just happen.

Normal POV

 

“Ok, guys, let’s get this place cleaned up!” Philip yelled as he walked into the back room of the circus tent where the performers would hang out before shows. “Remember this is the circus not the zoo!” 

 

“Yes master!” Lettie responded sarcastically while admiring herself in a mirror and earning a few laughs from some of the other performers.

 

Philip rolled his eyes a bit before replying, “Now listen, just because the public have loved you on stage, doesn’t mean we should be overconfident. We still need to let Barnum know that we’re keeping it together back stage as well.” Philip said while glancing around at the other performers. 

 

“No need to worry boss. We got it covered,” the tattooed man assured as he lounged back in his seat.

 

“Oh do you?” Philip asked with a raised eye brow. “Remember we still have quite a few protesters out there and we need to stay sharp. The last thing we need right now is another fire.”

 

“You really need to tone it down Philip. You worry too much,” Lettie said looking over at him from her vanity table as she ran a comb through her beard.

 

“I wouldn’t call being cautious worrying too much. I’m just looking out after everyone’s interest,” Philip explained. “And did anyone feed the elephants today?”

 

“Yeah, this morning,” the albino lady said while walking by.

 

“Have the horses pins been cleaned?” Philip called out.

 

“Yes,” the Dog boy said not bothering to look up from the book he was reading.

 

“What about the-“ Philip was cut off as Anne walked into the room.

 

“Really Philip, you need to stop and take a breather,” She said as she wiped some sweat from her forehead with a towel. “Your being much too stressed.”

 

Philip sighed, “Well maybe your right, but it’s hard to relax when you’re responsible for the greatest show in the country. Which reminds me has anyone seen Tom?”

 

“Not since last night’s show,” Lettie answered standing up from her vanity table and walking closer to Philip as if to whisper something. “I’m actually starting to get a little bit worried. It’s not like Tom to just disappear without telling anybody.”

 

“You don’t think anything could have happened do you?” Philip asked, his face filled with concern.

 

“God, I hope not. Do you think we should try looking for him?” Lettie started to sound worried. She and Tom had grown very close over the past couple of mouths, and she considered him one of her closest friends.

 

“No…Tom’s an adult, he can take care of himself,” Philip said confidently, though he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. “There’s no need to worry about him.”

 

“Worry about who?”

 

Philip and Lettie turned to see Tom walking through the back entrance of the tent, causing Lettie to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

“Is Barnum in the dog house with his wife again?” Tom joked as he walked over to Lettie and Philip.

 

“No, Tom, it’s just that you had everyone worried. Where have you been anyway?” Philip asked in curiosity. 

 

“Just around,” Tom answered casually. “Why?”

 

“It’s just that no one had seen you since last night’s show,” Philip told him.

 

“Yeah,” Lettie cut in, “What happened during last night’s act anyway? It seemed like it ended sooner than usual.”

 

“Nothing happened,” Tom started to get uncomfortable. “It was just like any other show.”

 

“But what was the deal with bringing that girl down on stage?” Lettie asked causing Tom to go tense.

 

“Yeah, I was wondering about that myself,” Philip interjected. “Was that Barnum’s idea or something?”

 

“I, uh…don’t remember,” Tom refrained from answering causing Philip and Lettie to look at each other in suspicion. Tom quickly changed the subject. “Well guys, if you’ll excuse me…I got things to do,” Tom announced before abruptly walking off.

 

“What was that all about?” Philip asked warily. 

 

Lettie just shrugged her shoulders in response and answered, “Who knows?” before walking off to her dressing room.

 

Philip glanced down at his wrist watch for the time when he heard someone call out to him.

 

“Hey rich boy!”

 

Philip looked over to see Mr O’Malley walking over with a grim look on his face.

 

“What’s wrong?” Philip asked knowing that look of his.

 

“Look at this,” O’Malley said while handing Philip a copy of today’s news paper.

 

Philip took the news paper and read what was on the front page. His eyes widened as he read the headline and he quickly walked off without a word as he headed for Barnum’s house.

 

Charity heard hard knocking and answered the door to their families’ new large home, which they had purchased once again after being temporarily evicted. 

 

“Oh, hello Philip, what brings you here?” Charity asked sweetly seeing her husband’s new business partner.

 

“Good day Mrs. Barnum,” Philip greeted giving her a courteous bow of his head, “May I see your husband please, it’s very urgent?”

 

From the stressed look on Philip’s face, Charity could tell it was something very important and she quickly obliged. “Of course Philip, he’s right-oh here he is now, “ she said as she saw her husband walking over to them.

 

“Hey, Philip, how’s the business going?” Barnum asked with a smile as he walked up and wrapped an arm around his wife.

 

“Phineas, could I talk to you…privately?” Philip asked as politely as he could in order to not offend Charity.

 

Charity quickly got the message and excused herself, “I’ll just go check on the girls. It was nice seeing you Philip.”

 

Philip gave her a grateful smile as she left them alone.

 

“So…what did you want to talk to me about Philip? Is it about more protesters, cause if so-,” Barnum was cut off as Philip handed him the news paper he was carrying.

 

“Take a look at this,” Philip said as he crossed his arms.

 

Barnum looked down at the news paper with a sigh, but furrowed his brows together as he read the headline out loud. “Last night, a young girl ran out of the P.T Barnum Circus in tears. When picked out of the crowd to meet the three foot tall General Tom Thumb …the performance apparently took an unusual turn, causing the girl to become extremely upset. Should we take this as an example of what the Barnum circus has to offer in the future?” After reading the article Barnum looked up at Philip in confusion, “What’s all this about?”

 

“You tell me?” Philip responded bluntly.

 

“What do you mean?” Barnum asked confused.

 

“I mean, what in the world happened last night?” Philip asked sharply, “Why would you even decide to bring a bystander on the stage if you didn’t know what you were doing?”

 

“Well, It’s just that Tom suggested it, so I didn’t see any harm in it,” Barnum explained handing the news paper back to Philip.

 

“Wait,” Philip said while taking the paper back, “Are you saying this was Tom’s idea?”

 

“Yeah,” Barnum answered rubbing his chin in thought, “He was even the one who picked the girl out from the audience.”

 

“He did?” Philip asked with an odd look.

 

“Yeah…and you know something strange?” Barnum asked warily. “He picked the girl out by name.”

 

“What?” Philip asked in surprise. He remembered how Tom seemed to be holding something back when he had spoken with him that day. Could it be he knew the girl? Well of course he did, if he knew her name. I guess it just surprised him that Tom really had any acquaintances outside of the circus group. Tom never really socialized outside of the circus, or maybe he did and no one knew about it. But whatever was going on he had to fix it.”Barnum, we need to make this story go away. We can’t afford more bad publicity,” Philip wore a stressed look.

 

“Oh, sure we can. Money wise, the circus has been doing pretty well these last few months,” Barnum joked with a smile.

 

“Barnum,” Philip gave his partner a dead serious look.

 

“Ok, ok, don’t worry we can fix this,” Barnum assured him.

 

“How?” Philip asked doubtfully.

 

“Just get me that girl’s full name and address and I’ll take it from there,” Barnum told him just as he abriptly walked off.

 

“How am I going to do that? I have no idea who she is!” Philip called out after him.

 

“Ask around, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Barnum said as he left the room.

 

Bethany’s POV

 

It was Sunday morning and mom and dad had left early this morning to go to church. They asked if I wanted to go with them, but I just didn’t feel like it today. Normally I would have been made to go anyway, but considering the humiliating experience I had to go through yesterday, they decided it would be okay for me to just stay home. Yesterday actually didn’t turn out to be so bad after all. After talking with Tom, I realized he was actually a pretty nice guy. My thoughts and feelings for him were still at times a bit conflicting, but I think right now it’s safe to say that I would consider him a friend. And from our talk last night, I learned that before the circus he didn’t have any friends, which I thought was really sad. I mean everyone deserves to have at least one friend.

 

I was just puttering around the house for most of the morning and finally settled on the couch with that book I had been reading. Eventually I fell asleep and only woke when I heard a knock on the door. Figuring it was just Brooklyn, I pulled myself up from the couch with a yawn and staggered to the door before opening it.

 

“Hey, Brooklyn, I-“ I stopped when I saw no one was there.”Hello?”I asked, apparently too stupid to realize that there was someone there. Maybe it was because my mind was still half blurred with sleep that only when I heard a cough, did I finally look down and see the last person I expected to see at my door. “Tom?”

 

“Surprised to see me?” Tom asked with a smile.

 

“Well, yeah…” I answered confused, “How did you even know where I lived?”

 

“You told me you lived on 31st street, so I just went to every apartment building and asks the landlords if any of their occupants had the last name Humphrey,” He said acting like what he did was the most normal thing in the world.

 

“Oh…really?” I asked obviously taken aback by his bluntness. 

 

“May I come in?” he asked without hesitation.

 

“Oh…sure,” I obliged quickly and stepped aside for him to walk in, closing the door behind him. 

 

He walked in and just took a second to observe his surroundings. True my home wasn’t the most beautiful place in the world, but it was nothing to be embarrassed of. He walked over to one of the dressers and picked up a picture that was sitting there. It was the one of my parents that was taken on their wedding day. He looked at it for a moment before gently placing it back down. He then picked up another picture which was one of my mother and me when I was ten years. He smiled at it but then his face suddenly became sad and he carefully placed it back down. He walked over to the couch and sat down without even bothering to ask. He picked up the book that I had been reading and started flipping through the pages.

 

I walked over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, not wanting to be too close to him. I was beginning to think maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have let him in after all, I mean what if my parents came home? What would they say? It’s not like I really knew this guy, I mean I just met him the other day in a bar. Oh, my gosh, in a bar! What would my parents say to that? But I can’t just ask him to leave, that just wouldn’t be- . My thoughts were cut off as I heard another knock on the door. With bad thoughts clouding my brain, I instantly bolted up, even startling Tom causing him to drop the book as I shouted.

 

“Oh no, It’s my parents!”

 

We heard whoever it was knock again, as Tom asked, “Do your parents always knock on the door of their own house?”

 

“Oh, right,” I said realizing how dumb I must have sounded. Gathering my senses I briskly walked to the door and answered it. And the person who stood there was none other than P.T Barnum himself! The man greeted me with a big smile as he introduced himself.

 

“Hello madam, allow me to introduce myself, my name is P.T Barnum,” he said tipping his hat to me. “You are Miss Bethany Humphrey I presume?”

 

“Uh…yes?” I answered confused. Why in the world would the great P.T Barnum be coming to my door?

 

“Miss Humphrey, there’s a little matter I would like to discuss with you. You see-“ Barnum stopped and looked past me. I already knew why, but I turned around anyway to see Tom standing a few feet away. “Tom?” Barnum asked in surprise. Barnum looked to me and then back at Tom with an unreadable expression. And I only hoped he wasn’t thinking what I thought he was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and leave kudos! Thank you for reading!


	6. I think I've got an idea!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barnum is up to his crazy ideas again. But hey, that's what makes him the Greatest showman!

“So you see Miss Bethany, the circus is kind of in a spot, due to the little incident the other day,” Mister Barnum explained as he sat cross legged on the sofa. 

 

I sat across from him on one of the kitchen chairs with my hands folded over my lap and my gaze towards the floor. Tom was seated on my dad’s old easy chair which I thought was a little funny since Tom was so much smaller than he was. As Barnum explained about the article in the news paper, I couldn’t help but notice how uneasy Tom looked. It’s almost as if he felt guilty about it, but he hadn’t said a word since Barnum sat down. I wasn’t sure how to respond myself. I mean, when I ran away that night I had no idea that the whole story would hit the front page the next morning. The article doesn’t mention my name thankfully, but it’s still me. And I can’t just stand by and let the circus take a bunch of backlash just because I over reacted about such a little thing.

 

I brought my head up and looked at Mister Barnum with regret written all over my face as I apologized, ”I’m so sorry Mr. Barnum. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

 

He smiled warmly and breathed a long sigh before replying, “Please don’t apologize Ms. Humphrey, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

 

“Yeah, but if I had just-“ I started before he cut me off.

 

“It’s okay Ms. Humphrey nothing that happened that night was your fault,” Barnum assured me.

 

I heard Tom shift uncomfortably in his chair, probably indicating that he thought Barnum was blaming him. But I certainly didn’t see it that way.

 

“It doesn’t really matter whose fault it was…” in my peripheral vision I could see Tom suddenly turning his head away so he wouldn’t have to look at me. I brushed it off and continued, “All I care about now is how do we fix this?”

 

“I’m glad you said that Ms. Humphrey because I think I have just the thing to make this go away,” Barnum said with a smile.

 

“And what’s that?” I asked hopeful.

 

“First things first…” Barnum stood up and I followed, but Tom stayed seated. “Ms. Humphrey…by any chance can you sing?”

 

I quirked an eye brow at him, and I was obviously taken aback by the question. I looked over at Tom and by the worried look on his face; I could tell he knew what Barnum had on his mind. I turned back to Barnum. 

 

“What?” I asked not sure if I even heard him right.

 

“Can you sing at all?” he rephrased the question.

 

“Well I suppose…a little bit anyway,” I trailed off confused, “Why?”

 

“Because I think I have an idea,” he said just before he bolted for the door. He opened the door to leave, but stopped and turned back to me. “Come down to the circus as soon as possible, I’ll explain everything then.” He was about to leave when he turned back and looked to Tom who had just managed to get out of my dad’s large chair. “And Tom, you be sure to come with her, okay?” Then without giving either of us a chance to respond, Barnum rushed out the door, closing it behind him. Me and Tom looked at each other for a split second and I was about to say something when Barnum swung the door open and peeked his head in the room again. He paused and gave me and Tom a strange look before asking, ”Wait a second…Tom…what are you even doing here?”

 

“Uhhh…” Tom trailed off awkwardly as he stuck his hands in his pockets. In fact I was wondering why he was here myself.

 

“Wait,” Barnum motioned up a hand for him to stop, “Never mind…I don’t want to know.” Then without another word he left, leaving me and Tom in an awkward silence.

 

“What was that all about?” I asked looking at Tom who was looking down at the floor.

 

“I’m afraid I might have an idea,” he said without looking at me. “We better hurry and get down there. We need to rehearse before the show tonight.”

 

“Okay,” I started heading towards the door when I stopped and turned back to Tom. “Wait, what do you mean we?”

 

Tom gave me a knowing smile as he walked over to the door and opened it, “Let’s go.”

 

After arriving at the circus tent, I followed Tom as he led me through to a back room. Walking through a curtain we were quickly greeted by numerous stares and gawks as we made our way through the numerous circus performers. Of course most of the staring was at me not Tom, since I was the unusual one here. I was so distracted by all the crazy stuff that was going on around me that I must not have been walking fast enough, because Tom suddenly took a hold of my hand and led the way for me. As we were walking I heard someone yell, “Hey Tom, who’s your little girlfriend?!” Tom didn’t respond, but I did feel my face beginning to heat up. Then someone else yelled, ”Nice going Tom, she’s pretty cute!” Were these people serious? I mean, Tom is a nice guy and everything, but I wouldn’t exactly call him my type. Not that I really had a type. 

 

Tom then led me threw to another room where he finally let go of my hand and I couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of relief. When he was holding my hand it just felt weird, not unpleasant, just weird. I can’t really explain it. We were quickly greeted by Barnum and with him was the bearded lady who I remembered from the show.

 

“Nice to see you again Ms. Humphrey and allow me to introduce Lettie Lutz,” he said motioning to the bearded lady who gave me a friendly smile.

 

“Hello,” I said, giving a smile in return.

 

“So she’s the new addition to the show that you’ve been talking about?” Lettie asked Barnum.

 

“That’s right! She and Tom Thumb are going to be a hit together,” Barnum announced sending waves of shock through my body.

 

“What?!” Me and Tom both shouted in unification. I guess even he wasn’t expecting that!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and continue to leave kudos! Thank you for reading!


End file.
